Qualitative methods

Qualitative methods – the key to the subconscious
Not everything one would like to find out about the target group can be surveyed with the help of structured, quantitative techniques. This includes, for example, feelings and deeply anchored motives, which people often never reflect upon, but are still the cause of very specific opinions, attitudes or behavioural patterns. If your investigative goal requires just this information to be revealed, FairControl uses methods of qualitative research.

Fields of application for qualitative methods
FairControl deploys qualitative methods as an instrument …

  • for the in-depth analysis of individual motives
  • for qualitative exploration in advance of a quantitative study if the object of the study is largely unexplored
  • for generating hypotheses, which can be investigated with the aid of quantitative techniques.

Our performance spectrum of qualitative methods includes:

  • in-depth interviews
  • group discussions
  • think-aloud protocols (TAP)

In-depth interviews
In-depth interviews do without a standardised, i.e. fixed, prescribed structur such as a questionnaire. The interviewer therefore has more freedoms and can explore the personal world of experience of the interviewee. This facilitates the analysis of deeply rooted motives, attitudes and emotional factors.

Group discussions
In group discussions, an object of opinion is discussed in an informal and non-standardised way. This highly interactive technique is especially recommended to collect new ideas and suggestions. The social opinion-building processes among the participants can also be uncovered and analysed very effectively during a group discussion.

Think-aloud protocols (TAP)
FairControl particularly employs this technique for researching routine day-to-day actions, for example at the POS. Another field of application are usability tests that investigate the user friendliness of products or shops. The test persons are encouraged to spontaneously and freely express and formulate everything that comes to their mind (associations, opinions, assessments, feelings) and then state it according to their thoughts during the purchase or product usage.